Archive for September, 2010

OK, I held back a bit in my last blog about new legislation that will most likely grant copyright protection to the fashion industry. In that blog on Design Observer I didn’t mention how deeply ironic it is that Diane von Furstenberg is leading the charge for this misguided legislation.

Well, in my new blog, just posted on PBS’s Need to Knowsite, I explain why von Furstenberg’s “iconic” wrap-around dress wouldn’t qualify for the protection that her Senate bill promises to offer. The main problem, you see, is that the wrap-around dress was actually a very hot item in the 1940s, when Claire McCardell successfully introduced it to the American market. Although von Furstenberg loudly proclaims ownership of this design (which was also popular in ancient Greece) , and she cites it as one of the main reasons she’s pursuing copyright protection for fashion designs, a quick search of the fashion archives would demonstrate that she’s created nothing new at all.

Who has, after all? DvF’s genius is in reviving the wrap-around dress and making it in the right kind of material with the right kind of print right when people wanted to wear it again. Does that mean she should own the design and no one else should be able to make it? In what universe would that make sense?

I had a fantastic time last night giving a talk on The Business & Culture of Social Media at Social Media Week LA. The crowd (including a lot of USC students) had really thoughtful questions and I look forward to attending more of the week’s events. (If anyone has any suggestions for must-see events, do tell!)

My talk was based on a publication that I co-authored with Martin Kaplan, my colleague at The Norman Lear Center, where we study the impact of media and entertainment on society. A video of the talk will be posted eventually (and I’ll be sure to notify everyone when that happens) but in the meantime, you can feast your eyes on this beautifully formatted publication, designed by the Lear Center’s multi-talented Veronica Jauriqui. Lord knows I believe in substance, but design shouldn’t be an afterthought and Veronica has made sure of that.

I was sad to hear that Satoshi Kon, the ingenious guy behind the mind-bending animated film Paprika passed away a couple weeks ago at age 46 . I had been thinking about Paprika recently when I watched Christopher Nolan’s Inception, a film that also explores the possibility of entering into other people’s dreams in order to change the way they think about something. In Paprika, the focus is on a team of therapists who perform their work inside the dreams of mental patients, but malevolent interests also end up running amok in there, as you might imagine. In Inception corporate interests hire experts to infiltrate the dreams of competitors in order to perform espionage, but we can see the therapeutic possibilities there too (in fact, you could read the ending of them film as Ariadne’s attempt to finally release DiCaprio’s character into a dream he can manage to live within).

As unique and clever as Inception was — clearly Nolan is his own brand of genius — the idea that real life can invade dreamspace is certainly not new, and one could argue that the topic is perhaps best treated in film. The experience of moviegoing is probably as close as we’ve ever gotten to collective dreaming and it’s not surprising that film professors and theorists have used the language and tools of psychoanalysis to understand film ever since the medium was popularized.

The material connection between dreamspace and physical reality has always been a fascination of mine, and not just since I got hooked on the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise as a tween. But it wasn’t until earlier this year, after I saw a great piece in the New Yorker about nightmare research, that I started to really think about the profound role that films play in shaping our understanding of the interstial space between dreams and reality. Not only are films in a privileged place to depict this bizarre space (where the imaginary becomes real), but these compelling depictions end up worming their way into the collective unconsicous, literally providing the material for our own private explorations of these spaces in our own dreaming.

As I mention in an earlier blog on this topic, dream researchers have found that movie villains frequently star in our nightmares; whether or not our dreams are in color or black and white is determined by our TV and film watching; and the length of our dreams is also correlated with the type of video content we consume. There’s no doubt in my mind that our consumption of representations has a very real impact on our brains and behavior, but how on earth can we find any legible referents in the tangled relationship between filmic depictions of fantasy becoming reality and our own unconscious explorations of these themes, which have such a profound impact on our lived lives? I think I need to make an appointment with an analyst. Or a really smart film scholar.

I always tell people that anything you can think of that happens in the real world also takes place in Second Life. Marriage, divorce, armed robbery, political demonstrations, car races, scuba diving, concerts, film screenings, theatrical productions, university classes, weird sexual acts, you name it . . . they’re all happening in Second Life (SL). I was delighted to find out that another real world event has been ported over to the virtual one: Second Life hosts several Fashion Week events, including a big one that will go on at the same time as Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in New York City, September 9-16. Last year it was in Bryant Park SL; this year it will be in a custom space (I guess there’s no Lincoln Center in SL).

Retail fashion is a crucial part of the Second Life economy and so it makes perfect sense that some of the more well-respected designers would participate in a virtual version of Fashion Week. It can be pretty hard finding the good stuff in Second Life: I’ve actually started reading the SL fashion magazines such as Second Style, which have the same kinds of imaginative, theme-driven spreads that you see in Vogue or Elle. The big upside is that you don’t have to be rich to purchase SL couture. I have never, ever, looked at an outfit in a real world fashion mag and gone to Barney’s to buy it. But in SL, I have bought complete outfits that I saw in fashion editorial spreads (I certainly wouldn’t mind buying these leggings in the real world).

If you ever have to spend any quality time in Second Life (I’ve had to attend several meetings and conferences in there) then I can guarantee you that you will want to buy some decent clothes for your avatar. But let me warn you right now: this is a deeply addictive activity. I feel the same endorphins firing that I felt when I obsessively dressed (and undressed) Barbie dolls for hours on end as a tween.

And, in order to make your avatar look good in Second Life, you don’t just buy clothes for them. You buy eyes and a higher-end “skin” that looks more appealing than the off-the-shelf virtual flesh that get you get for free when you join. Avatars are becoming more and more life-like, with freckles and glittering eyes and custom animations that make them seem uncannily alive. If you don’t mind crossing the uncanny valley, it’s a very exciting time to check out a virtual world and do a little virtual shopping.

Narrating Behavior Change

It was exhilarating to participate in a five-day workshop in Mexico City hosted by the World Bank. Researchers, media makers and development experts from 15 countries shared knowledge about entertainment education techniques and worked together to develop new behavior change campaigns across Africa and South America. Find out more.

Fashion & Politics

Does fashion play a role in politics? You betcha! But all the fashion rules are turned on their head in a world where having a signature style can make you a target for derision. I had a lot of fun talking to Esquire about who's deviated from the uniform (e.g., Bernie) and why.
Find out more.

ONA LONDON

I'll be crossing the pond to attend the Online News Association's conference in London, March 6, 2015. The focus is on mobile and so I'll be presenting the Media Impact Project's latest how-to guide on Mobile Metrics. Find out more about
the session
.

Social Media in India

A big highlight of my year was a trip to India to speak at
APOGEE, a technical extravaganza including over 6000 students, 100 colleges, and 80 technical events at the Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS) in Pilani. I was joined by a star-studded crew, including Mansoor Khan, a titan of the Indian Film Industry, and Dr. Walter Lewin, Professor Emeritus of Physics at the MIT. Check out the
video of my talk on the social impact of social media in India, where digital social networking is booming (especially among women). Find out more about the event
here.

Mission Creek Festival

I'm very excited to keynote the Innovation Conference at the Mission Creek Festival, a wonderful music, film, lit and food fest that takes over the entirety of Iowa City. I'll be talking about Technologies of Taste and the impact of recommendation systems. Headliners include great indie bands like Real Estate, Foxygen and the clever Father John Misty, along with literary superstars like Lorrie Moore and that quirky Ander Monson. Join us March 31 - April 5!
Find out more.

Pop Culture & Science

Last Fall, I attended a timely workshop at MIT on
The Evolving Culture of Science Engagement. Sponsored by the American Association for the Advancement of Science and Culture Kettle, we explored how popular culture helps frame, inform and distort our understanding of science. Read the report.

Real Food Media Contest

I had so much fun juding the Real Food Media Contest last year that I'm doing it again. And I'm thrilled to see that Tom Colicchio, Padma Lakshmi, Jamie Oliver, Michael Pollen, Eric Schlosser, and Alice Waters have signed on as well. We’ll be looking for short films that tell great stories about sustainable food and farming:
Check out the finalists and vote for your favorite..

On The Media

I met Bob Garfield, host of NPR's popular program "On The Media," at a terrific conference hosted by TTI/Vanguard, where both of us gave talks on some big problems in the media industry. Afterward, Bob interviewed me about Netflix's data-driven decision to produce the edgy "Orange is the New Black," and included it in an episode called "Dare to Stream.".

LEAP Symposium @ Art Center

I'm a huge fan of Art Center's Designmatters program and so there was no way I was going to miss their LEAP Symposium, which brought together over 100 national thought-leaders working at the intersection of design and social innovation. With IDEO's Jocelyn Wyatt and frog's Robert Fabricant in the room, it was bound to be great. A report has been published in Design Principles and Practices: just let me know if you want a copy ;-)

Imaging War: The Primetime War on Terror

This year Drexel University will devote its Great Works Symposium to the matter of media -- specifically, how we generate images of war. I'm excited to be giving a lecture on November 5 about my research on how the War on Terror is depicted in the most popular dramas on television. Check out the video and the full report. The findings might surprise you.

Championing Women & Diversity in the Media Business

I was thrilled to join Gail Berman, the first and only female executive to hold the top posts at both a major film studio and television network, and Jacqueline Hernandez, COO of Telemundo, to talk about the importance of diversity in media organizations. This event was co-sponsored by Ms. Magazine and USC Annenberg’s Center on Communication Leadership & Policy. Watch the video.
Find out more.

Women Empowered at Cognizant

I'm flattered to have been invited back again to be the featured speaker at another Women Empowered event sponsored by Cognizant, a global IT services company that is taking gender diversity in the workplace very seriously. I'll be talking about social media and the need to recruit women in technology industries at the Computer History Museum March 4. Joining me in the conversation will be UT Austin's Tricia Berry, Fizziology COO Jen Handley and Cognizant's Ben Pring.
Find out more and register here.

TED Radio Hour

Guy Raz interviewed me about the culture of copying in the fashion industry in what he called “maybe our best show ever.” The show included one of my all-time faves, Steven Johnson, and Mark Ronson, who produced such inspired work with Amy Winehouse (may she rest in peace).
Check it out!.

My TED Talks

TEDxUSC: Lessons From Fashion’s Free Culture

I was extremely proud when TED.com picked up this talk that I delivered at TEDxUSC, the site of the first TEDx in the world. My talk focuses on the fascinating culture of creativity in the fashion industry, where copying is actually legal.

TEDWomen: Social Media & the End of Gender

I was very proud to share the stage with Madeleine Albright, Eve Ensler, Donna Karan, Sheryl Sandberg and a slew of other impressive speakers at the inaugural TEDWomen. My topic here? Social Media & the End of Gender.

TEDxOC: The Politics of Personal Taste

My fifth talk for the TED network is based on one of my favorite research projects at the Norman Lear Center. It was a special pleasure to speak at the stunning Segerstrom Concert Hall in Costa Mesa, California.
Watch the video
.

TEDxPHX: Can Movies Really Change People?

Here's my most recent talk which is about how movies can have a measurable impact on people's knowledge and beliefs.

Follow me on Twitter

Fashion & The Creative Commons of Color

Anyone who knows me will realize immediately that I would not be able to resist an event called "Color Lust." I am thrilled to be the keynote speaker at the 50th anniversary summit of the Color Marketing Group, which, probably unbeknownst to you, plays a role in determining the color of your furniture, your car upholstery, your nail polish . . . you name it. I'll be speaking about fashion and the ownership of color on October 28 in luscious art deco Miami!
Find out more.

TED Ads Worth Spreading

I was very proud to be a part of TED's Ads Worth Spreading challenge - an effort to acknowledge the power of advertising and to encourage those who wield that power to do something good with it. I was teamed up with
Kenzo Digital, a new media wunderkind (and an all around nice guy) to identify ad campaigns that touch a cultural nerve; ads that capture or catalyze a cultural movement, moment or event. You can check out the winners here!

Gastronomy & Technology in Barcelona

It's a techie foodie delight! I'll be delivering the keynote presentation during Gastronomy & Technology Days in Barcelona, October 18. Sponsored by the most famous chef in the world, Ferran Adria, and Telefonica, the biggest telecom company in Spain, this event will bring together people exploring the intersection between new technology and food.

Making Media Now

The Filmmakers Collaborative has asked me to speak about media-fueled impact at the Making Media Now conference at the Massachusetts College of Art & Design on June 8. My panel will discuss how cross-platform media and partnerships with NGOs, government and corporations can create measurable impact."
Find out more.